Friday, October 11, 1996
VOLLEYBALL:
Hopes for win rest on home court advantage, setting tempoBy
Grace Wen
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
The Washington schools used to be a cakewalk for UCLA.
Until two years ago, neither school had ever beaten UCLA.
Washington got its first ever victory in 1994, and Washington State
beat UCLA once last year. Nonetheless, UCLA leads both series 27-1
and 19-1.
Despite the series advantage, however, UCLA head coach Andy
Banachowski is apprehensive about this weekend as the 13th-ranked
Bruins (12-4, 4-1 Pacific 10) will be taking on No. 15 Washington
(14-2, 4-1) on Friday and No. 10 Washington State (12-3, 3-2) on
Saturday.
"It’s going to be tough," Banachowski said. "They’re both big,
strong, powerful teams. We’ve got to be able to get our block to
work, to slow them down. Our blocking is not as good as I had hoped
it would be. It’s been too streaky.
"Both teams, especially Washington, are very big. Their hitting
and blocking is ahead of ours. In an area we hoped would be our
strength, we’re going to go up against teams that are stronger than
us. I think it’s going to be a big challenge for us at the
net."
Washington State middle blocker Sarah Silvernail thinks her team
will do more than just poise a challenge for UCLA. "I think we’re
going to win this weekend," she said. "We’re going to sweep the
L.A. schools (UCLA and USC) for the first time in history."
Head coach Cindy Fredrick, however, is not nearly as
confident.
"I would never say that I expect us to sweep both of these
teams," Fredrick said. "I think that if it happened it would be
huge, there’s no doubt about it, but that’s just not something that
I would ever say. I have too much respect for both programs and
we’re playing at their place. We’re definitely at the disadvantage
coming down there."
Besides the home court advantage, however, middle blockers will
also factor into this match.
Silvernail currently leads the Pac 10 in kills per game and is
second in the conference in hitting percentage. A second team
All-American, the 6-foot, 1-inch senior poses a serious threat to
UCLA.
"She’s tough," Banachowski said. "She’s very big and she’s got a
lot of shots in the middle. It’s always been hard for us to stop.
Hopefully this year, since we’re a little bit bigger, we’ll be able
to match up better against her with our block and slow her down
some. But she’s been outstanding for Washington State."
Fredrick sings similar praise of middle blocker Kim Krull.
"Kim Krull is one of the best middle hitters in the Pac 10," she
said. "(She) is always the one you have to watch for, especially
right now. She’s a real dynamic player and has a big impact on the
team. I think Kim is probably the one that can maybe set the pace
on that team."
Both coaches contend that the tempo of these matches are
important. Banachowski has said, "I think they can go hot and cold
like we go hot and cold."
Fredrick shares a similar opinion.
"Andy puts a lot of different people in there and those people
can either play really, really well or not so well, which is really
the case with all of us."
If either of the Washington schools or UCLA sweeps this weekend,
the victor would have sole possession of the number two spot in the
Pac 10. "It would be really huge wins for us as far as placing
ourselves in the Pac 10," Banachowski said. "It would really
establish ourselves, our position in the Pac 10 in the fact that
we’re able to control those teams that are right with us."